


Peanuts

by kathiann



Series: Jace Series [4]
Category: The Mentalist
Genre: F/M, Family, Holidays, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-05-24
Updated: 2009-07-24
Packaged: 2017-12-10 18:14:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/788668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kathiann/pseuds/kathiann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to A New Week, which was sequel to Confessions and Choir music. Don't have to read them to get this, but do it any way, ok? Established Jace, going home to meet her family, something just has to go wrong. COMPLETE!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sequel to "A new week", which is the sequel to "Confessions and Choir Music". While I'd like you to read them both, it is not necessary to do so to understand this story. There is an established Jace relationship, started with Jane showing up to listen to Grace sing in choir at church and ended up with them in a relationship. If you have any questions and don't want to read them, just drop me a line. My daughter just figured out how to do the puppy dog look, sticking out the bottom lip, quivering it slightly, big eyes…partially the inspiration for Jane in parts of this chapter. Thanks to demonbunny7 for being my beta on this.

"Come on Patrick, let's go. It's one of the busiest travel days of the year, and unless you want to call my parents and tell them why they don't get to meet their daughter's boyfriend, then I suggest you get a move on."

Jane had been slacking all morning. They had gotten up really early, well before the sun was up, which was not a happy thing for him. He had spent the night before not sleeping, he was too nervous. He hadn't had to meet the parents of the person that he loved for well over 15 years, and it was nerve racking.

He had no desire to spend Thanksgiving with Grace's family. He would have much rather spent it at home in Sacramento. But when she said she was going and that he was expected to come…well, he was hopeless to deny her anything.

He reluctantly got up off the sofa and went into the bedroom to grab the suitcase. He still had his house, but hadn't spent much time there in the last few months. Since that first time he spent the night in her bed, he'd been there.

"You know you're lucky that the Unit pulled Christmas duty, or we'd be spending an entire week in Iowa, instead of just a few days. I'll tell you my family wasn't happy about that." She was calling to him from the living room. It wasn't hard to hear her, the apartment was tiny, he had actually been thinking that it was time to move into a bigger place, and glanced behind him to make sure she wasn't coming before he slipped one last thing into his suite case and locked it.

"Alright, I'm coming. It's blackmail really. I still think they should have come here instead of us going there." He as pouting, he knew it, he didn't care.

"Stop pouting, what are you, four? There's too many of them for it to be economical for them to come here. Where would they all stay? This place is tiny and I wouldn't want to put them up in a hotel." She was rambling. She did that when she was nervous, and she was cute when she did it.

Jane walked up to her and pressed his lips to hers in silence her ramblings. In all the months that they had been together, her kiss never ceased to excite him. He felt her moving closer and pressing her body against his. She slowly drew her tongue across his lips causing him to moan and open his mouth to her. He laced her fingers threw her silky red hair and was starting to think that he may be able to get out of this trip after all when he was suddenly holding nothing but air.

"And that's the last kiss you're going to get until we get there." She said, picking up her bags and heading to the door. "The cab's outside waiting, let's go."

He groaned. How was it, that with all his mind control "powers" and genius level of intellect, he was still powerless to other, less intelligent parts of his body? She knew she had him and was enjoying every minute of it.

Jane was tempted to cause a scene at the airport, to get himself thrown of the plane, to get himself band form flying, but with the thought that he would no longer be able to get Grace's kisses, and the thought of Lisbon's face at work when he told her he could no longer fly anywhere on their cases, well, it was enough to make him simply profile the rest of the passengers on their plane.

Grace slept on the flight. She knew that once they got to Iowa they were going to have a two hour drive ahead of them. Grace hadn't told Jane that her dad had wanted to pick them up at the airport. She knew it would just freak him out even more.

They were lucky that the first big snow storm of the season had been the week before, and that the next one wasn't supposed to come until after the weekend. Their rental car was a nice size and they drove towards Grace's little home town.

"Ok, so tell me about them one more time. I want to be able to impress them when I get there." Jane said with his eyes on the road. Despite the fact that he didn't know where they were going, he wanted to be the one to drive.

"Can't you just use your amazing powers of observation like you always do?" She teased.

"This is more important than just some case or somebody off the street. This is your family. I want to make a good first impression."

"I'm sure they'll like you. But ok, my mom is Lucy, she does not like jokes about the name, so avoid that and you should be fine. My dad is named Charles, also, doesn't want any jokes, and doesn't really care for peanuts or even peanut butter."

"It's not as if his last name is Brown. It could be worse."

"His wife's name is Lucy Van Pelt; do you really think it could be worse?"

"You could have a brother named Linus." He chuckled, he just couldn't help it.

"Wipe that smirk off your face. It's not funny."

"I thought you liked my smile."

"Your smile yes, your smirk no. It means you're up to do good." She paused looking at him to make sure he wasn't smirking anymore. "My older sister is named Hope, she's married to Bill. They have two kids, Adam 3 and Sam 2. Next is my brother Jack. He's married to Sally, again, no jokes or you will not be walking straight for a week. Sally is due January, they don't know what it is, the baby wouldn't cooperate. SO we're just calling it Junior. Then there's Simon, he's in the army, he won't be here, he's still in Iraq. We will be praying for him, so please keep comments on religion to a minimum. Next is me, and well, you already know more about me than I know about me I'm sure. And then my baby sister Charity. She's 17, she still lives at home. My aunt Mary will be there, she's a hoot, and her husband Greg. Oh, and my cousin Yolanda, the psychic."

"Please tell me she's not going to be staying in the house with us." He wanted to be good, but knew that if he were confronted with someone who proclaimed themselves to be a psychic he couldn't be held responsible for his actions.

"I love you, remember. I know you want to make a good first impression; I wouldn't do anything purposely to damage that. I'll try to keep her from showing off in front of you." She reached over and placed a hand on his leg, giving him a reassuring squeeze.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Jane asked glancing at her briefly. She blushed slightly and looked away; he could always tell when she was hiding something.

"Who would I be forgetting?" She asked, not looking at him.

"Oh, I don't know, your high school boyfriend, Mr. Hayfield, whom your parents were absolutely in love with and devastated when you broke it off to go to college and who still lives in town, teaches at the same school as your dad and is one of the assistant coaches?"

"What, are you jealous?" She asked laughing. "It's possible he may be there, but what does it matter, I chose you."

They rode in silence for a little longer until they got to what could be called the main part of town and Grace started giving directions to the family house. It was nearing dark, and there was just enough light left for Jane to see the neighborhood. The houses were large, but not like his, they looked cozy. They were spread far apart, with large fields and pastures between them.

"Nice town." Jane commented as he drove.

"Thanks. It's the second house coming up. White and blue." The pulled into the drive way and parked behind a large older looking pickup truck.

"Well, I guess there's no time like the present." Jane said, nearly hiding the nervousness in his voice.

"Don't worry, you'll do fine." She said, reaching over to cares his cheek with her hand and pulling him I for a deep kiss. They both jumped when there was a rapping on the window. Standing outside the car was Grace's entire family, and Mr. Hayfield himself was knocking on the window.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've found that I really like writing this story. I still think that the idea of Jane and Grace is just wrong, but I think their growing on me. Not that I'm ready to say I love Jace or anything, and I still prefer Jibson, but it's growing on me. Thanks to the lightning fast demonbunny7 for getting this back to me so fast. And to everyone who reviewed this, I appreciate the support.

Jane glanced out the window and then back at Grace. "Damn. Is that really all of your family?"

"Just about." She said sheepishly. "We should really get out of the car."

"You know what? I'm ok with just staying in here for the night, thanks." He really didn't want to get out and meet her parents, let alone her ex boyfriend whom her parents were still holding out hopes for her to marry.

"Don't be ridiculous, you'd be a popsicle before morning, and I really don't want a popsicle for a boyfriend. As delicious as I'm sure you would taste." She said, gathering up the things at her feet.

"Fine, but if I get attacked in my sleep I'm going to haunt you."

"You don't believe in an afterlife or the supernatural Patrick."

"No, but you do, isn't that enough."

She reached over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "You're sweet. But do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Put your gloves on and keep them on until we get to bed? I'm sure I can play the long travel day and get us excused early."

"Ok, but why?" He asked, taking his gloves from where they were in the center console and putting them on.

"Fewer questions." Was her answer before she opened the door and stepped out of the car.

"Hey everybody! Help us with the luggage and well go inside for introductions, ok?" She said looking out over the car roof. As if on cue, Jane popped the trunk and the guys in her family trucked to the trunk to get the bags.

It only took a few minutes for them to all be inside and the luggage to be stowed safely in Grace's old bedroom. When everyone was assembled in the living room she began.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend Patrick Jane" Grace said trying to keep a smile on her face.

"I thought you were dating that other guy from your work, the big one, what was his name? Wayne?"

"No, I never actually dated him" Grace said, putting an arm around Jane's waist. "Patrick, this is my mom, Lucy, my dad Charles, my sister…"

"Hope, yes," Jane interrupted with a smile. "Married to Bill, and I'm assuming that you're children are already in bed? Yes, well, that's to be expected with children so young. And you must be Jack and Sally." He paused looking at Sally and her rather large stomach. "Congratulations on the girl."

"Oh, I knew it. Congratulations." Grace said releasing Jane to go over to her sister-in-law.

"We don't know what it is Patrick, but thanks for the guess." Jack said a little defensively.

"Not a guess, I know." Jane said in his usual smugness. "And you must be Charity, really, a pleasure to meet you." He walked over and hugged her although he had not done that with any of the others, and whispered something in her ear. The look on her face was one of shock and horror.

"What did you say to her?" hissed Grace in his ear when he came back to her side.

"I'll tell you later." He whispered back to her. Out loud he said "I'm sad that Aunt Mary and Cousin Yolanda aren't here. I'm sure they'll be here tomorrow?"

"Yes, they will be." Lucy said. "But you missed someone. Didn't Grace tell you that Arthur would be here?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Art, didn't see you standing over there. Nice to meet you." Jane said offering him his hand.

"Arthur. Pleasure's all mine Mr. Jane." Arthur said.

"Please call me Patrick." He held onto his hand a little longer than was necessary, and Grace clearing her throat behind him was enough to make him drop the hand like a hot potatoes.

"Why don't you dear take off your coats and sit down, you must be starving after such a long trip." Charles said gesturing to towards the kitchen and dining room.

"Thanks dad, but really, we're just really tired, I think we're just going to call it a night." Grace went and hugged her dad. "I love you ok; we'll have all weekend for you to grill Patrick, ok, so let us rest first?"

He chuckled at that. "Ok, sweetie. Did you need two rooms? Because we could arrange two."

"One is fine." Grace said. She gave hugs to all her family and they said goodnight before going into the room.

"So this is where little Grace lived? Nice digs." Jane said looking around.

"Don't read too much into it, my mom decorated it. Besides, you'll learn a lot more about me from my apartment back in Sacramento, and I know you've been over that with a fine tooth comb."

They changed into their pyjamas, leaving their coats lying over the desk chair and both climbed into the double bed.

"At least it's not a twin; I don't think we would both be able to fit then." Jane said in a joke. Grace didn't laugh.

"Ok, spill. What did you tell my sister?" Grace asked as Jane pulled her into his arms.

"Oh, nothing really. Just that if she was going to de drinking and smoking pot this weekend to not do it around me because I have a large mouth that doesn't know when to shut up."

"She is not drinking and doing drugs! My parents wouldn't stand for it." Grace said, pulling back slightly out of his embrace to see his face.

"She's not doing them now, but I guarantee you she had a hit less than an hour before we showed up, and she plans to go to a drinking party tonight. Don't believe me you can go wait outside and see her leave."

"I believe you." She relaxed back into his arms again. "What about the rest of my family, what do you think?"

"I'm older than they were expecting. I predict that there will be no less than three cradle robbing jokes tomorrow. They were expecting Rigsby, which means that when you never told them that you were dating me. They didn't recognize my name, which leads me to believe that while you mentioned that you worked with a psychic, you never told them my name. You're dad has bad arthritis in his knees and is concerned that it's going to affect his coaching, but doesn't want to worry your mom. Hope and Bill are having marital problems stemming from the desire for your sister to have another child, and Bill not wanting any more as he's afraid of being laid off. Sally is less than thrilled with your mom, she thinks she's meddling in their life, and Charity, well, I already told you that."

Grace took a minute to digest what he had said. "Wow, a cold read in less than five minutes gets you that? Can't wait to see what a whole weekend gets." She lay there thinking, not sure how to word the question, but knowing it needs to be asked. "What about…ummm,"

"Arthur? I don't know yet. I'll let you know at the end of the weekend." He said, clearly hiding something.

"You can't lie to me, but I'll let it slide this time. I love you, you know that?" She said turning in his arms to face him and give him a quick kiss.

"I love you too. Now we should probably get to sleep. I expect that we will be woken up very early tomorrow." Grace nodded against his chest. "Tell me, why did you want me to wear my gloves inside?"

Grace reached down and picked up his left hand from where it was resting against her hip. "I don't mind, I understand, but my parents, they won't." She said, gently stroking his hand, being careful to avoid his ring finger. "Good night Patrick."


	3. Tanksgiving 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a reminder, Lucy and Charles-Grace's mom and dad. Hope and Bill-her oldest sister and her husband, their kids are Adam and Sam. Jack and Sally- her oldest brother and his wife. Simon-brother in Iraq. Charity-youngest after Grace. See how I used names from Peanuts (I bet you all got the title already though) and tied in the rest of the girls with Grace's name. I should have named one of them Pattie. They could call her Peppermint. Thanks for all the fabulous reviews, sorry that I didn't update sooner, no excuses, I just didn't. Thanks also to demonbunny7 for the fabulous beta and being so fast at it once I got her the right part (it only took 4 tries, you wouldn't think it would be that hard).

He hadn't slept well. This was unusual. He hadn't really had a problem sleeping since he and Grace got together. He'd even stopped having to take his sleeping pills every night. There were still times when he needed them, after a bad case, or when he'd had a bad day, but for the most part, any night he spent in Grace's arms was a special one and one in which he slept peacefully.

Last night it had not worked. He had tried all night to sleep and it just hadn't worked. He lay in the bed, staring at the ceiling, not wanting to move too much and wake the sleeping beauty beside him. He decided to try some of the breathing exercises that Grace had taught him. He might not do yoga with her, but some of the relaxation techniques that she did were quite effective.

He closed his eyes and relaxed his body, breathing deep in through his nose and out through his mouth. He did this about five times before he began sniffing more than breathing. Was that cinnamon rolls he was smelling? And bacon? Was someone cooking breakfast? Even thought it was only 8:00 am, which meant it was 6:00 am in California, Jane couldn't help but reach over and nudge Grace to wake her up.

"Grace, sweetheart, do you smell that?" Jane whispered loudly.

"Yes." Grace mumbled into her pillow. "My mom cooks sticky buns every year for breakfast. Usually at Christmas, but we aren't here for Christmas, so don't get used to it." She didn't open her eyes.

"I can't go down there by myself, can't you smell how good it smells." Jane said, bouncing in the bed slightly.

"Did you get any sleep?" she asked finally opening her eyes and looking at him.

"No, I didn't."

"Well, did you take one of your pills?"

"No, I didn't think about it until it was too late."

Grace sighed, throwing the covers back and getting out of bed. "Tonight, when you can't sleep, I want you to take one of your pills. In fact, find them now and put them by the bed. That way you don't even have to get out of bed. I'm going to take a shower."

"Can I join you?" He asked getting out of bed himself.

"NO! We're at my parent's house; we can't be sharing a shower."

"I'm just teasing you. I know. I'm surprised they let us share a bed."

"Oh, you…" Grace stammered at him. "Wait for me Ok? I won't be long."

"Sure, sure." Jane said, nodding and digging through his suitcase. It didn't take long for Grace to shower, and even less time for Jane to do so. They were both dressed and getting ready to go down stairs by 8:30.

"Did you find your pills?" Grace asked as she put the finishing touches on her makeup.

"Why do you always insist on wearing make up? You look so much more refreshed without it."

"Well, you woke me at an ungodly hour this morning. I'm going to have bags under my eyes. I haven't managed to weasel your secret out of you for how to make it look like you sleep all day when in reality you don't get any sleep at all, so you're just going to have to deal with it. And you didn't answer my question."

"Um, no, I didn't. They weren't in my bag. I must have left them at home."

"Well, are you going to be ok? I mean, I know its Thanksgiving, but if we need to, I can see if my parents can call the doctor, he's a friend of theirs, and there's a 24 hour Walgreens in the next town over, we could get it filled by tonight."

"I'll be fine. It's sweet that you care so much about me. I was just nervous. You know I don't sleep well in unfamiliar places. Tonight should be much better." He gave her a quick kiss and then grabbed her hand and headed for the door. "Now, let's get a move on before your sister eats them all, I'm sure she's got the munchies after her night partying."

"Don't say things like that in front of my parents ok?" She said heading down the stairs with him. "I don't think they would be able to handle it."

"Don't fret, just keep the bacon coming." Jane said as they walked into the dining room.

"Well look who finally decided to join us!" Lucy shouted as they walked into the room.

"Still early mom." Charity mumbled form her seat where she had both her legs pulled up under her sweater. Jane gave Grace a look that clearly read 'I told you so' and they both sat down, with Grace on Jane's left.

"I could smell those all the way upstairs, they smell divine. Grace says you only cook them at Christmas, I'm so glad you made the exception."

"It's not every day our Gracie brings home a guy, we had to celebrate." Charles spoke up from where he was sitting at the end of the table reading the paper.

"Well it looks delicious." Jane said surveying the table and the food piled on it. "It almost seems like a Thanksgiving feast right here."

"Oh, no, this is the last food till after 4:00 when we sit down for dinner. Take advantage of it while you can." Lucy said, enjoying the light hearted conversation. "Coffee Patrick?"

"No, thank you. I would love some tea if you have it, boiling hot water with the—Ow, you know what, I'll make it myself if you can show me where everything is." Jane said, shaking his hand slightly as he got up from the table. Grace watched him follow her mom into the kitchen followed closely by her dad and wondered at the wisdom of leaving them alone with him, but decided against following him into the kitchen. He was a smart man, he could talk his way out of getting shot, he could survive a little conversation with her parents.

Jane stood by the stove watching the kettle heat. He wasn't normally nervous in situations like this, but he was now. He hadn't been this nervous around strangers since he had met his wife's parents. He could do this. This time he could do this without disappointing Grace or making a fool out of himself.

"So Patrick, how did an old guy like you come to be in a relationship with my second youngest child?" Charles asked.

"Well, there's no BS with you, is there Charles. Is it Charles, or do people call you Charlie?"

"I'm a football coach with a wife named Lucy Van Pelt. Do you know how many jokes I got when I was younger about her pulling the football out from under me? And not all of them appropriate in mixed company either. I go by Charles. And you didn't answer my question."

Darn. "I work with her. We met at work. We've hung out as a group before. But I have to say, it was her voice. I heard her sing in church on Easter, and I just couldn't help myself. I just had to hear her sing. One day, she accosted me in the church parking lot, and well, the rest is as they say history."

"And the age thing, it never bothered you?" Jane stood with his back to him, looking down at his hands before shoving them in his pocket and turning around.

"No, it's never really been anything we discussed. We did use it in a case once though. I played her much older college professor who seduced her into marring me. A real jerk really. It's a wonder Grace gave me the time of day after that. This was before we were dating though. She really is a very sweet woman, and sometimes just too good for me." He turned back to the tea pot that he knew was about to boil. He needed a distraction. Whenever he didn't get sleep he became increasingly agitated, and who knew what he might say.

"Well, she seems to like you, and that earns you points in my book. I'm glad we had the chance to meet you before you proposed to her." Charles said patting Jane on the back, causing him to spray the sip of tea he had just taken all over the counter.

"What?" Jane had not planned on that.

"Just teasing my man, just teasing. Like to see a man's reaction. Got the same reaction from Faith's husband before he popped the question."

Jane just nodded and without thinking removed his left hand from his pocket to wipe the mess up on the counter. He tried to ignore it, but there was an audible gasp as Lucy caught the glint of the light reflecting off his ring. Realizing what he had done, he tried to cover it up with the paper towels he was using, but not before Charles saw it too.


	4. Thanksgiving 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a reminder, Lucy and Charles-Grace's mom and dad. Hope and Bill-her oldest sister and her husband, their kids are Adam and Sam. Jack and Sally- her oldest brother and his wife. Simon-brother in Iraq. Charity-youngest after Grace. Oh, and Arthur is Grace's ex boyfriend, who works with her dad and the family just loves. I had planed on posting this before i went to work today, but it just didn't happen, so here it is now. Thanks for all the reviews, and to demonbunny7 for the awsome beta.

Jane returned to the table with a grim look on his face. "I've been found out." He whispered to Grace before taking a sticky bun off the platter in the middle of the table.

"What?" Grace asked him out of the corner of her mouth, trying to keep smiling at what her sister Faith was saying to her.

"They saw it." He whispered before saying more loudly. "This is amazing. You have to give me the recipe. I would love to be able to make them."

"You cook Patrick?" asked Bill taking a bite of one himself. "Isn't that the woman's job?"

"What century do you live in? Grace does much harder work than I do, she deserves a break when she gets home, and we have a deal. I cook, she washes the dishes, and she sings when she washes the dishes. Have you ever heard her sing? Really, it's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. It's like the sirens song. I'm powerless to her when she's singing." Jane said, hoping that he could make her parents forget about the ring on his finger.

There was more friendly conversation as they all finished eating, and cleaning up. "So Patrick," Jack said as they cleared the last of the plates off the table, "Care to help us set the rig up for the turkey?"

"Why would you need a rig for a turkey?" Jane asked.

"The men get together every year and throw their testosterone around by deep frying a turkey." Sally put in before Jack could answer.

"Deep fried turkey? It's a pity you didn't bring Rigsby huh Grace?" Jane asked her.

"Not funny. Besides, I think he's having much more fun with his cougar than he would here." Grace said to him. "Now go on and be a man. I'm sure you have it in you. I'll let you know if I need you."

"What are you going to be doing?" He obviously didn't want to be alone with her dad, but what could he do.

"We're going to be making pies, sides and rolls. Now, go. I'll be fine, they don't bite." Grace said giving him a light kiss.

"It's not you I'm worried about." Jane said quietly in her ear. "Walk outside with me." He grabbed her hand and they walked toward the drive way following the rest of the guys.

"I know you think you have it hard Patrick, but really, it could be worse." Grace said as they walked.

"Oh really, I'm pretty sure your parents think that I'm a married man taking advantage of their precious little girl."

"Well, you could be Lisbon right now telling her boyfriend that she's pregnant."

"I knew it. How'd you find out?"

"She told me. There are just something's that you tell a woman that you don't tell a man. But I think she's got the worst part of it. She's got to meet his family and tell him that she's pregnant. She definitely has it worse off. Now, go over there and get to know my dad. He's really not that bad."

Jane looked at her like she didn't believe him and walked over to the rest of the guys.

"Grace!" She heard her name being called the second she entered the house.

"What? I was just walking with Patrick outside." She called back walking towards the kitchen.

"Grace, we have to talk." Her mom said. In the kitchen was her mother, both of her sisters and her sister-in-law.

"Talk about what?" She asked picking up a knife and beginning to chop celery.

"Are you really banging a married guy?" Charity asked. And was immediately hushed by the rest of the women.

"No, I am not banging a married man." She kept chopping. Maybe Lisbon did have it easier.

"Well, did you elope?" Sally asked.

"No, I'm not married." She moved onto carrots.

"Well, I may be wrong, but I saw a ring on a very special finger that just happened to belong to your boyfriend" Lucy said.

"Would you believe that he just likes to wear rings on that finger?" Onions, she hated chopping onions.

"No, I would not believe that. He doesn't really strike me as the jewelry type of guy." Faith said.

"Well, you know, it's not really my place to tell." Grace looked down at her neatly chopped piles of vegetables and grabbed a bunch or herbs and began to chop them too.

"Yea it is. You're sleeping with the guy and he is just freaky. He's like psychic or something." Charity said.

"He's not psychic, he's just paying attention. That's what he gets paid to do." Grace said, closing her eyes and waiting for the barrage of questions.

"Wait. He's the psychic you work with? They guy who's is so traumatized by the death of his wife and daughter he thinks of nothing but avenging their deaths? You're dating that guy?" The questions came all at once and it was impossible for Grace to tell who had asked which one. This was going to be a long day.

Jane stood off to the side, watching the rest of the men at work. Charles and Arthur seemed to be setting up some sort of contraption over a large burner and a pot filled with what Jane could only assume was oil. Really, he would rather be inside, lying on the couch like he usually did. The Thanksgiving Day Parade would be on in a few hours, he hoped that he would be able to escape the testosterone fest that was frying a turkey and get a chance to watch it.

"Ever fry a turkey before Pat?" Arthur called to him form where he was pouring oil into the large pot.

"Patrick, and no, I can't say that I've had the pleasure. I usually cook my turkeys the old fashioned way." Patrick said, noticing the overly aggressive way that Arthur was acting towards him; he was definitely over compensating for something.

"Really, you cook them in the oven? How's that work out for you?" Arthur teased him.

Jane thought carefully before he said anything. He looked down at his hands, not wearing gloves, really there was no need for it at this point, Charles had already seen his ring. "My wife has a really good recipe; it's been handed down for generations. Usually involves the inability to use the bathtub for a few days depending on how many people are coming to dinner." The men had stopped working and were just staring at him; he kept going, no time like the present to get it all out. "One year, I sent my daughter to take a bath, forgetting that we had set the turkeys to soak, she came back down wrapped in a towel complaining that the turkey was in the tub first and that she was going to have to wait until after Thanksgiving to take a bath." He chuckled slightly at the memory, but it was only a halfhearted attempt.

There was complete silence. There weren't even any sounds from the animals. He hadn't thought he would render them speechless, he had thought he'd get a much more violent response from all of them.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm a little cold, and I know that it only takes about an hour to deep fry a turkey, so even if we're going to cook enough turkeys for the whole town, we probably only need to be out here from about 2:00pm on, so I'm going to go inside." Jane quickly made his escape before the guys could regain the use of their tongues.


	5. Thanksgiving 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a reminder, Lucy and Charles-Grace's mom and dad. Hope and Bill-her oldest sister and her husband, their kids are Adam and Sam. Jack and Sally- her oldest brother and his wife. Simon-brother in Iraq. Charity-youngest after Grace. Sorry about the long break between updates, stuff happens you know? Anyway, thanks to every one who has read and reviewed, and to demonbunny7 for the beta.

Jane walked into the house and quickly made his way to the kitchen seeking out Grace. From the look on her face where she was standing over the counter peeling apples it looked like she was having about as much fun as he had just had outside. He came up beside her and took the knife out of her hand.

"I don't think you with a weapon is a good idea right now." He whispered in her ear.

"What did you do?" She whispered back.

"Let's get out of here," He whispered back, looking around the kitchen at the other women who had stopped working and out the window at the men who were starting to move again and didn't look happy. "Please, before they find weapons?"

She gave him a look that clearly asked what did you do? and promised no sex until he had made it right. This was going to be a long weekend. Without saying anything she slipped quietly out of the kitchen while her mom and sister were talking. She led him quietly up the stairs towards her bed room. They entered and Jane shut the door quickly.

"Does this door lock? Ah, yes it does. Very good, wouldn't want them getting in." He locked the door and turned around looking at the TV sitting on the dresser at the end of the bed. "And just in time, the parade is going to start soon." He turned it on and tuned to the right channel, all the while ignoring the look that Grace was throwing him. It was one of confusion, desperation and a hint of anger. He could understand the confusion and the anger, but was a little unsure about the desperation. He sat down on the bed to watch the parade, luckily just starting, and smiled at her. "You're going to miss Snoopy and Woodstock if all you do is stand there."

Reluctantly she came and sat next to him. "What did you do Patrick?"

"Well," he dragged the word out to last several seconds, "It's not so much what I did per se, as what I said. Or rather what I didn't say."

Grace groaned. "What did you say Patrick?"

"You know, it's not really that important." He wasn't looking at her, trying to pay attention to what ever hit Broadway show cast was currently performing, but he knew she wasn't going to let it drop.

"I have a gun Jane, and I'm not afraid to use it." She was no longer playing along. If there was one thing she had learned from Lisbon this past year and a half it was that Jane responded very well to threats.

"You've been spending too much time with Lisbon. We were just talking about different ways to cook turkey and I may have mentioned that my wife has a great recipe, and may have told a story about the time I sent my daughter up to take a bath with the turkey."

"Has or had?"

"Has." There was the sound of angry voices coming from down stairs and Jane sat up a little straighter, maybe Lucy would straighten them out.

"So my dad, brother, brother-in-law and ex boyfriend all think that not only are you married, but that you have a kid. I know that to you they will never be far from your mind, but I thought you were serious about this Patrick. I thought you were willing to be there for me and I know I'm willing to be there for you. Couldn't you have just done what I did and tell them the truth?"

"What did you tell your mom and them?" Jane asked, not happy about how mad she seemed to be, this was not going how he had planned.

"I told them that your wife and daughter were killed and that you wear your ring as a reminder of them."

"Yes, well, I suppose that would have been better. But what can we do."

"You can apologize to them."

"Where's the fun in that?" There were pounding steps on the stairs and the angry voices were coming nearer. "Is there another way out of here?" He was more than a little nervous now. He had no doubt that Grace would throw him to the wolves if it came to it.

"What, now you want to go shimmying down the drain pipe and escape out the back pasture? The neighbour tends to get trigger happy, you might want to introduce yourself before you go running through his field."

"Can you really shimmy down the drain pipe? I think I'd pay to see that. And I wouldn't run off across the field, I'd go sit in the living room and watch the parade with the kids." He stood and walked towards the window.

"Fine, but let me show you how it's done." She got off the bed as the handle started jiggling. "Well, let's hurry. Don't think that because I'm showing you how to do this I'm not mad at you." She walked over to the window and opened it. "There's the pipe. I reinforced it when I was in high school so it would hold my weight."

"You snuck out of the house? Why Grace, I'm shocked." Jane said with mock seriousness and alarm.

"After I broke up with Arthur my senior year my parents basically confined me to my room. They could never believe that I didn't want to date him, and they didn't like my new fling. I leaned to sneak out. My brother's room is right next door, he used to get out the same way."

"Wow I really am impressed, you come across as so sweet and innocent, but underneath you're just a vixen aren't you?" Jane asked coming closer and pressing his lips to hers. They were still standing there kissing when they heard her dad's voice clearly on the other side of the door.

"Lucy! You still have the key to this door?" Charles shouted and Grace cringed.

"Well, we better go. I'll go first and then you can go. Make sure to shut the window." Grace said smiling at him as she stepped out the window. Jane took one last look around before following her. As he was hanging on to the drain pipe, he reached back and pulled the window shut, and then slid, with rather a lot less finesse than Grace had, down to the ground.

"I do not want to do that again." He said when they reached the bottom.

"Well, then keep your foot out of your mouth. What now?"

"We got to watch the parade; we still have to see Santa." Jane said making for the back door.

"You are such a little boy." Grace mumbled under her breath following him.

They went into the kitchen, noticing no one around and then made their way to the living room where Graces young nephews were watching the parade. "Santa been through yet?" Jane asked sitting next to Sam.

Sam just looked at him not saying anything. "Sammy don't talk much." Adam said to Jane. "You're in trouble."

"Oh? And how do you know that?" Jane asked, surprised at the candid way the young boy was talking to him.

"Cause he's yellen, and he only yells at ya when ya do somting really bad. It's not good ta get Grandpa mad." Adam said turning back to look at the TV and the Sesame Street performers now singing on their float.

"He's right you know." Said Grace from the other side of the room where she sat in her dad's easy chair. Jane turned to say something to her when they heard the door bang open upstairs and the yell of her father when he noticed that they were no longer in the room.

"Does your dad know you can sneak out the window?" Jane asked in a loud whisper.

"No, that's why you shut the window." Grace whispered back.

"Ah."

They went back to watching the parade while the rest of the family searched the upper floors for them. Santa was just coming on the screen, signifying the end of the parade and the beginning of the Christmas shopping season when the sounds of the pounding foot steps were heard coming down stairs.

"When I find him I'm going to kill him for lying to my little girl." Charles was yelling.

"Now honey, be reasonable. You know what Grace said about him, he likes to cause trouble." They heard Lucy's calm voice behind him. They were getting close.

"When I get my hands on him-" he stopped yelling abruptly when he walked into the living room and saw the four people sitting there. "What the hell!"

Adam and Sam started laughing and Jane joined in. "Grandpa said a bad word."

Grace couldn't help it, at the look on her father's face and the huge grins on the faces of her nephews and boyfriend she just busted out laughing. Really it was too much.

"I don't think this is funny young lady." Charles said.

"Oh, Dad. You just don't see it the same way I do."

"Where the hell have you been?" Charles demanded as more peals of laughter sounded from the boys on the sofa.

"We were just watching the parade. But it's over now, so I think I'll go make a pie. Care to join me honey?" Grace asked standing and offering her hand to Jane who stopped laughing and joined her.

"I'd love to. Apple? Right? Tell me I'm right?" They started walking towards the kitchen leaving a flabbergasted Charles in their wake.

"You are just like a little child aren't you?" Grace said not answering his question.

"What the hell just happened here?" Charles asked looking around at the rest of the people in the room who were as dumbfounded as he was.

"I saw them go upstairs." Sally said. "I watched them go up stairs and shut the bedroom door."

"How the hell did they get out?" Asked Hope.

"You all really don't know?" Said Jack. "Same way she's been getting out of the bed room since she broke up with Arthur her senior year of high school. No offence Arthur, but I'm sure you already knew."

"Yea." Arthur said before realizing what Jack had said. "Wait, what?"

"Never mind. I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation for it."

They all made their way to the kitchen and were shocked to see Jane and Grace actually peeling apples side by side, acting playful and very much in love. Charles just stood there watching his daughter in disbelief. She must really love him. He walked up behind them and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"This guy of yours is a pain in the ass, you know that sweet heart?"

"I know Dad, that's one of the things I love about him." Grace said turning towards him slightly.

"I just wanted to apologize for the way I said what I said earlier. Really, I've been told that I have a death wish, I just can't help it, I love trouble. Do you know how many times you're daughter has had to get me out of a jam?"

"Not nearly as many times as Lisbon." Grace muttered, but Jane just smiled at her and looked back at Charles.

"And the number of times I've been punched in the nose? Really, I should try to learn self defence."

"You're not kidding." Grace mumbled again, this time earning a grin from Jane.

"My point is sir, that your daughter has had to put up with a lot from me, and honestly, I haven't had to do this whole meet the parents thing in over 15 years, and after my wife and daughter were killed, well, I didn't think I'd ever have to, I guess, well, I just acted like my same old smug arrogant self. And you guys didn't know that. See, most people would either punch me or laugh, but I did kind of blind side you there, didn't I?"

Charles looked at Jane, trying to decide if he was apologizing or just making noise and was about to say something when Jane spoke again. "Now, why don't you guys go on out and prepare the hot oil bath for our dear dead friend here, and I will help out in the kitchen, really, I feel more comfortable in here anyway."

Not knowing really what to expect Charles just nodded and walked back outside, the look on his face saying that he just wasn't sure what had just happened in there.

"Ok Grace, where were we, ah right apples." Jane said picking up his knife and beginning to peel again.

"You really are insufferable aren't you?" Grace asked also turning back to the task of peeling and slicing apples.


	6. Thanksgiving 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Eve215 told me the other day that the age difference between Simon Baker and Amanda Regetti is actually 13 years, not 15, so let's just call it poetic license OK? As a reminder, Lucy and Charles-Grace's mom and dad. Hope and Bill-her oldest sister and her husband, their kids are Adam and Sam. Jack and Sally- her oldest brother and his wife. Simon-brother in Iraq. Charity-youngest after Grace. Arthur-Grace's ex boyfriend. And Cousin Yolanda as mentioned in the pilot, with the psychic gift. Oh, and this isn't betaed, i decided not to make you guys wait, so here it is.

Things had calmed down significantly at the Van Pelt house by the time the turkeys went into the fryer. Grace had talked with her dad and let him know that Jane was not married, anymore at least, and even though it had been over six years since their deaths, Jane still felt the pain daily. Her father seemed to understand this, and was, surprisingly ok with it. "I just want you to be happy, Baby." Was the last he had to say on the subject.

Jane and Grace had finished making pies, pretty much by themselves while everyone else watched, awed by the casual way that Jane and Grace interacted with each other. Her family wasn't used to this behavior; they were used to the way she acted around Arthur, unsure of herself, quiet and shy. It would seem that this new guy in her life brought out the best in her.

Deciding that they both needed to get out of the house and out from underneath the scrutiny of her parents and family Grace decided to take Jane for a walk around her home town. They walked at a leisurely pace holding hands and just enjoying each others company.

"I'm glad we're here." Grace said for the first time breaking the silence that settled between them

"Really? Even though I nearly gave your dad a heart attack and almost got myself killed in the process?" Asked Jane giving her a playful grin.

"Yes, despite all of that. Besides, it just wouldn't be a vacation with you if someone wasn't threatening you life, or of you weren't talking long after most people would have shut up."

"You think I talk too much?"

"Yes, I do. At least sometimes. You don't seem to have an ounce of self preservation in you." They walked in silence for a while, Jane not denying the words she had said. "Look! There's the field that you'll be playing football on with the guys tomorrow morning."

Jane stopped walking and stared at her. "I'm sorry what?"

"I didn't think you were hard of hearing."

"I'm not. I just wanted to make sure I really heard you."

"Yes, you will be playing football tomorrow while I go shopping with my mom and sisters. You know, after Thanksgiving sales and all."

"Let me get this straight. You want me, the guy who sits on a couch all day, to play football with guys all at least 10 years younger than me?"

"My dad will be there too."

"Yes, but he'll figure out a way to keep from playing without mentioning his knees. He'll probably use me as an excuse. Probably say there are too many guys to play so he'll sit out."

"Oh, right. I forgot about that." Grace thought about it for a few minutes. "But it's ok. It's two hand touch."

"Somehow I am not reassured."

"I'm sure my brother will take it easy on you."

"It's not your brother I'm worried about. Really it's Arthur I'm more concerned about."

"I thought you said he didn't bother you."

"I'm not worried about him stealing you, but he has an image to maintain."

"Are you ever going to tell me why you don't think Arthur would steal me away?"

"Besides the fact that you are obviously head over heels in love with me? No. I'm not going to tell you. At least not while we're still in town. Maybe when we leave."

At some point during their conversation they had turned around and headed back towards the house. "Your cousin is here." Jane said as they walked up the drive way.

"How do you know? There are no extra cars."

"She's looking at us through the window. I'm guessing you family told her who I am."

"Please, just remember what happened this morning." Grace pleaded.

"Sure." Jane said with a mischievous smile as he reached for the door handle.

"Patrick." Grace said a little more worried now, but Jane didn't listen. He just smiled and opened the door.

"Oh Patrick," Lucy said as they came in the door. "I'm so glad you're back. Come meet my sister Mary and her daughter Yolanda."

Grace groaned. This wasn't going to end well she could tell. She was able to keep Yolanda off the topic of her "psychic gift" for longer than she had expected. She had been half tempted to corner her and bribe her not to bring it up, but there was only one thing that Yolanda would want from her. Since they were little children Yolanda had wanted nothing more than to be a brides made at Grace's wedding, but she knew if she promised that than Yolanda would start asking questions. Like how come she was keeping such a big secret from all of them. And Grace didn't want to get into the fact that Patrick, while loving and always faithful, would never ask her to marry him. He was still hung up his late wife, and while she understood why he still wore his wedding ring and it didn't usually bother her, sometimes it would just creep into her mind.

Like right now. Dinner was almost done. The turkey had been fried and was resting, the rolls were just coming out of the oven and the only thing left to do was mash the potatoes. She had gone upstairs to get a clean pair of socks to replace the ones stolen by Jane and her nephews to play sock puppets with. Jane had lured her into it with the promise of a foot massage. And while he had indeed massaged her feet, he had also stolen her socks and was now chasing her nephews around the house with the "sock monsters". She could hear the laughter and sequels of pleasure from her nephews as she shut the door and sat on her bed.

It made her think. She loved Patrick, she really did. But looking at their life made her want to cry at times. She was willing to stay with Patrick as long as he would have her. She loved him, but she couldn't help but think of what she would never have. She was still young, fifteen years younger than Jane in fact. She was still in elementary school when he and his wife had gotten married. He'd had a child already. True she had died a horrible tragic death at a very young age, but still. She loved watching him with children. Every time they had a case that involved children he seemed to go out of his way to spend time with them. And yet, he'd never mentioned wanting another one of his own before. Sitting there on the bed she had used as a child she realized that she may never give her mom grandchildren. She would never have every one fawning over her the way they were fawning over Sally down stairs. She would never have someone call her mommy, or climb into her bed in the middle of the night and because they had a nightmare. The only child she was likely to ever have was 15 years her senior.

She heard the laughter from down stairs stop and her sisters' voice yelling at something that the three of them had done and she decided that it was time to rejoin the group. She had enough in her life as it was. And, with Lisbon having a baby, she'd be closer to what was sure to be a surrogate little niece or nephew than her own. Being an aunt was better than being a mom after all, she didn't have to put up with the screaming and the dirty diapers, she just had to play with them when they were happy and cheerful. Shaking her head to clear away the thoughts that had been in there before and pasting on a smile that would fool even Jane unless he looked very closely at it she headed back down stairs, noticing that the family had started to gather at the table and that Jane was taking to her Aunt Mary. That should be ok, but as she got closer she began to worry. She noticed that Yolanda was also sitting there at the table looking at Jane with a mixture of pity, horror and depression on her face. He had to be talking about psychics.

"There is no such thing as psychics. I was never one, despite what you might think. I was a fake. I've never met anyone who was able to pull it off all the way. Not even you my dear."

"I am no fake psychic like you are. I have a real gift."

"Delusional then I see."

Before Grace could say anything to stop him, as Yolanda was now looking more crushed than anything else and May looked like she was about to ripe Jane's head off Charles spoke up.

"Patrick, we always like to give the guest of honor the chance to say the blessing of thanks, would you do the honors today?"

"I don't pray."

"I know most people don't pray near as often as they should but it is a special day."

Grace felt like she as watching a train wreck that she was powerless to stop.

"No, it's not just that I don't pray as often as I should. I don't believe in God, or an afterlife, or anything really."

"But I thought you went to the same church as Grace."

"No, I listen to her sing at church. I don't do much more than that."

"So you're telling me that you don't believe in God? What type of life are you going to be able to give my daughter and your children if you don't believe in God?"

"Who said we were ever going to have children or even get married for that matter?"

She just stared at them all, sitting in that room, she couldn't believe Patrick would say anything to them, he knew what kind of problems it would cause. And here he was, not shutting up again. Really, this was getting to be too much. Jane noticed her standing in the door way for the first time and saw the look on her face.

"Grace, honey, it's not like it seems." Jane started to say but she just shook her head at him, not trusting herself to answer. She just looked at him and walked out the front door, slamming it on the way out.

"Shit." Jane mumbled under his breath, but obviously not quietly enough.

"Patrick said a dirty word!" Screamed Adam running around the dining room, still wearing Graces socks on his hands.


	7. Thanksgiving 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I was hopping to leave this in a good place before my vacation, like I did with "What If?", but Grace had other plans. She just wouldn't let me, so go ahead and read and tell me what you think should happen with these two love birds. Thanks to all the people who are reviewing this little story of mine, and to demonbunny7 for the beta, you are awesome!

The crisp air was a relief after the heat of the house. She couldn't believe that Jane would say that. Was it that hard to just behave long enough for her to get a pair of socks? Seriously. He seemed to crave the chaos. She knew this when she went into this relationship, but hadn't actually seen him unleash his full potential on completely innocent bystanders. She'd seen it on suspects before, and on family not cooperating, but never had she seen him do it to someone he was supposed to love. She heard the door open and knew who it was without turning around.

"I'm not particularly happy with you right now Jane." Grace said arms wrapped around her for warmth. The cool that had felt good at first was starting to chill her. She felt something warm go around her shoulders before he spoke.

"Downgraded to the formality of a last name, like we're simply colleagues." Jane said with a sigh. "I am truly sorry about that in there Grace." He still had his hands on her shoulders and she shrugged them off. She didn't want any sort of physical contact with him, that's how she got into this mess to begin with.

"You know, I might believe you if you didn't have that ridiculous smile on your face." Grace said, still not facing him.

"Only when you use my last name. It's been ages since you've called me Jane, that well, I got a little nostalgic." He stopped as she took another step away from him.

"What's the real issue here Grace. I doubt it's that I told your dad I didn't believe in God, or that I told Yolanda that she was a fake."

"No," Grace lied, hoping that he wouldn't be able to tell if he wasn't looking at her. "That is exactly why I'm mad. I ask you to do a simple thing, think about me before you run off the mouth, and can you do it? No."

"You knew what I was like when we started this thing Grace."

"You're right, I did. I guess I was just deluding myself if I thought that you could behave like a normal person for a weekend. I guess I was wrong."

Jane walked up behind her and placed his hands on her arms. She wrenched out of his grip and took a few more steps away from him. "I don't want to hear your excuses Jane."

"Grace, sweetheart, please, listen to me." Jane went to take a step towards her but changed his mind. "I didn't mean what I said. You know that."

Grace stood there for a minute, not saying anything, still not looking at him. Suddenly she turned around her eyes flashing. "No. I don't know that. Half the time I can't even tell if you're joking or serious. I don't even think you can tell the difference half the time." She took a step towards him and looked over his shoulder at the living room window where her family was watching. "So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to kiss you right now; you are going to kiss me back. We are going to go inside, smile, and pretend that there is nothing wrong here. Then we will go to bed, and if you're lucky, we will talk about this."

Not waiting for him to answer, Grace leaned up and pressed her lips to his, not allowing him to deepen the kiss, although he tried. "Now, wrap your arm around me, paste a smile on your face and we'll go inside, eat dinner and go to bed early."

"I love you, you know that, right?" Jane asked doing as she requested.

"I love you too, but sometimes…" She didn't finish as they got to the door.

Brushing off the concerned looks of her family, they all retired to the dining room for dinner. Much to Grace's surprise, Jane actually behaved himself during dinner. He apologized to Yolanda for calling her delusional, had a pleasant conversation with her father about football, no mention of religion. He didn't mention his political views or his thoughts on the war when it was brought up. But still, Grace could tell he was distracted, he was obviously trying to figure out what it was that was really bothering her, but no one else noticed; how could they, he kept the smile on his face all through dinner and desert.

It didn't take much to convince her family that they needed to go to bed early, and as such they weren't given a hard time about going to bed.


	8. Thanksgiving Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know what you all are thinking, YEA! She's back from vacation. But alas, no, I'm not. I just got bored while sitting waiting for two hours for my friends new husband to show up at his own reception. he went to go make sure everything was ok at the hotel and got stuck in traffic. Isn't that what the best man is for? Because all the best man did was stand around being annoying all day, and all night too. Anyway, maybe it's because I'm still in vacation mode, but parts of this chapter maybe a bit off. I had both Eve215 and demonbunny7 read it through for me, and still, I'm warry to post it, but, it is what it is. I'm posting it now and to heck with it all.

They were quiet in Grace's old room as they got ready for bed. He wanted to give her the time she was going to need. She obviously needed the time to organize her thoughts, and Jane wasn't going to push her. She was sitting on the side of the bed; Jane was laying on it, above the covers, in her favorite blue pajamas. He could tell she was close to talking, and he was tempted to be the first to speak, but knew that if he did, that it might push her away even more.

She picked up her pillow and held it in her lap, picking at nonexistent fluff and lose threads. She didn't look at him as she opened her mouth to speak. "I wonder sometimes, what is it that's going on in your head." She paused and looked over her shoulder at him. "I wonder why it is you do the things you do, and why you don't share with me." He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off with a look. "You say that I've been spending too much time with Lisbon; that I'm picking up her habits, well, maybe I'm just trying to figure out why it is you open up to her, and not to me."

"You think I open up to Lisbon more than to you?" Jane couldn't believe it. She really thought that he didn't want to share with her?

"I love you Patrick, can't you see that? I want to be close to you, I want you to feel you can trust me to tell me what it is that's bothering you, what it is that makes you go, why it is that you don't want to marry and have more children. I want to know what it is about Lisbon that you prefer, that makes you confide all your deep dark secrets to her."

"It's not that I prefer Lisbon to you, it's just that, well, I had Lisbon before I had anyone else. She's always been there for me, and well, she doesn't judge."

"You think I would judge you? I can't believe you would think that."

Jane let out an impatient breath, that's not what he had meant. "No, I don't think you would judge me. But before I started…dating you, well, I didn't think there was anyone else I could trust. Certainly not the doctors or the "sympathetic" people who just wanted to get me to spill my deep dark secrets so that they could turn a quick buck. I guess it just became habit to share with Lisbon."

"You know Patrick, we've been dating for over six months now and still, after all this time, after a long case you still go into Lisbon's office to talk it out and offer her support, for her to give you support. Why don't you do that with me?"

"I don't know, I guess I just figured you'd been handling it pretty well on your own, and well, just habit I guess. I never realized you might need the support too." He looked at her studding her face. "But you're still not telling me what's really bothering you. You can't be that jealous of the friendship that I have with Lisbon."

Grace sighed and looked down at the carpet beneath her feet. She remembered picking it out with her mom. She'd been 12 and had decided that she disliked the 'little girl' decorations that had been in her room her whole life. Her mom had helped her pick out new carpet and paint. She buried her toes in the thick pile before speaking. "No Patrick, I'm not jealous of your friendship with Lisbon. I have you, that's what I really want. I know you'll never get remarried or have more children. I know you hate Red John; I know you were shattered by what happened. I guess I just want you to tell me about it. I want to know why you're willing to be in a relationship but not commit, I want to know what you plan to do when we find Red John. Sure, I've pieced together bits and pieces, just by watching you, but I want you to talk to me. I want you to see me as more than just the woman who sings and dances while washing dishes, more than just your source for good sex. I want you to share with me as much as I share with you."

She stopped talking and they were silent for a minute. Jane opened his mouth to speak but Grace cut him off. "No, don't say anything tonight. I don't want to hear your reasons. Not tonight. I know, you're thinking I just asked you to share all this with me, but I don't want you to do it just because I told you to. I want you to do it because you want to. I just want you to hold me tonight. And tomorrow, I want you to play football with my family and I want you to think, long and hard. And then we'll talk, when you've decided how much you want to share with me."

They lay down together, Jane holding Grace tight to his chest; almost as if he were afraid she would disappear in the night. He waited until she fell asleep before placing a gentle kiss on her forehead and whispering "I love you" in her ear. He knew there was no chance of him sleeping tonight, for the second night in a row, and hoped that he would be able to protect himself against the attacks that were sure to come in the morning.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait for the update, really, I didn't mean to wait that long, things just happen. Thanks to every one who reviewed. As a reminder, Lucy and Charles-Grace's mom and dad. Hope and Bill-her oldest sister and her husband, their kids are Adam and Sam. Jack and Sally- her oldest brother and his wife. Simon-brother in Iraq. Charity-youngest after Grace. Arthur-Grace's ex boyfriend. Not betaed, hopefully there are no mistakes.

It was barely 3:30 when Grace's mom popped her head in the bed room to let Grace know it was time to get up to go shopping. Cursing under her breath the idiots who decided that the malls and stores needed to open at 5:00 am on the day after Thanksgiving, Grace quietly slid out of Jane's warm embrace. She was moving slowly and softly as if she was afraid to wake him, but she knew he wasn't sleeping. Sure he had his eyes closed and his breathing was slow and regular. It was more like meditation. She was a little worried about how he was going to do at the football game today, what with no sleep for the past two days, and all the stress he had been under meeting her family, but as she watched him and he made no move to 'wake up' she decided to just let him carry on his charade. He would be fine, he always was.

Jane waited until he heard the car drive off before he opened his eyes. He knew he hadn't fooled Grace into thinking he was actually asleep, but her mom had been fooled, and had been extra quiet when waking Grace. Jane rolled over to his back and sighed. Today was the day he was going to wish he were Rigsby. He was going to play football with the family and friends of a football coach. And at this point, it wouldn't surprise him if they all had it out for him too.

He looked at the glowing numbers on the bedside clock and sighed. 4:04. He was never going to get to sleep, there was no point in trying. He might as well get up and do something productive. He'd make breakfast for the guys. Maybe they'd so impressed that they wouldn't kill him. It wasn't likely, but he could still try.

Jane dressed in his regular three piece suit. He knew it was over kill, and that he would end up having to change before the game, but he just felt more comfortable in his suit. It was like the security blanket his daughter had carried around with her as a baby. She'd dragged that blanket with her every where until it was thread bare. He'd had her buried with it; that had just seemed fitting. He sighed thinking about it. He supposed that was the type of thing Grace was taking about when she said she wanted him to share, but, he just had such a hard time at it. He didn't like to share, to let people in. He knew Grace wasn't just anybody, but, it was still hard.

Jane looked in the refrigerator at the leftovers from the night before, noticing that the entire turkey had been put in the fridge without anyone bothering to clean it off. Knowing that it would make a good project, Jane set about finding the largest pot he could find, picking the turkey, and setting the bones to boil for broth. He'd make soup for lunch, or dinner, whenever the women got back from their shopping.

It was almost 6:00 by the time he got done cleaning the turkey and putting together the broth. Now it just had to boil for a few hours to be ready. He set about looking at what else was left over that he could make for breakfast. There was a huge platter of mashed potatoes left, and Jane had an idea. His wife used to make the best potato biscuits from left over mashed potatoes. He'd make a variation on biscuits and gravy for the guys for breakfast, and some turkey hash for those that didn't like the gravy.

He really got into his element in the kitchen, sometimes he thought he missed his calling as a chief, but reading people and solving crimes was just too much fun, he didn't think he could ever give it up. It saddened him a bit to think that he would be the one to be washing the dishes this time around, and not Grace, but he kept cooking anyway, it gave him time to think.

By the time the biscuits were coming out of the oven, the gravy was thickening on the stove and the hash crisping it was almost 8:00 and Jane could hear the sounds of the men moving around upstairs. He started the pot of coffee he had prepared earlier and the kettle for tea, just in case anyone would take him up on his offer of the perfect morning drink.

Jane placed the last palter of food on the table just as he heard the first footsteps on the stairs. He had long since abandoned his jacket onto the back of one of the chairs and had rolled his sleeves up. He wiped his hands on the only apron he had been able to find, a large flowered one that he had seen Lucy wearing the day before. He surveyed the food before him, wondering if he had made enough. There was a large basket with the biscuits in it, along with the pan of gravy, as well as butter and jam. The hash was there, and Jane figured he could always fry up some eggs if the guys wanted some.

"Good Lord what smells so good?" Bill asked coming into the dining room dressed in jeans and a football jersey that looked to be from the same high school that he had gone to and that Charles taught at.

"Lucy must have made something before she left." Jack said following him, dressed in a very similar outfit.

"You guys crazy?" Charles said coming up behind them, "It would be cold or burned to a crisp by now."

All three stopped in the doorway, staring at the spread on the table before them. "Patrick wasn't kidding when he said he could cook," said Bill coming up behind them. "How many people do you think are still here? There's enough to feed a small army here."

"I guess you won't be needing eggs then." Jane said sitting at the table and slathering his biscuits in gravy.

"You cooked biscuits and gravy and hash but no eggs?" Asked Charles.

"I didn't know when you guys would be up; most of this is good reheated, so it wouldn't have mattered if you'd slept for another hour." Jane was trying to just be casual, but he really just wanted to tell them all to shut up and sit down and eat.

"That's ok, I'm going to call the rest of the guys and tell them to come over for breakfast before heading to the field. We may need those eggs yet." Bill grabbed the phone off the counter and began to call people. Jane just smiled as he took a large bite of food, with any luck they'd all be so full they'd forget about pummeling him into the ground during a 'friendly' game of football.

An hour and 2 dozen eggs later and Jane was sitting in the back of one of the guys pickup trucks riding to the field where the game was to be held. As Jane had predicted, he was the oldest guy there other than Grace's father. And as he had predicted, he begged out due to an odd number of players. He had actually volunteered to stay home and wash all the dishes.

They split up into teams, Jane hoping to stay as far away from the ball as possible. Only, the first chance they got Jane was given the ball, and promptly pushed to the ground.

"Sorry man." Said the guy who had pushed him. "I only used two hands." He held his hands up as if to prove it, and then helped Jane get up. This was going to be a long game.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait for the update, really, I didn't mean to wait that long, things just happen. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. As a reminder, Lucy and Charles-Grace's mom and dad. Hope and Bill-her oldest sister and her husband, their kids are Adam and Sam. Jack and Sally- her oldest brother and his wife. Simon-brother in Iraq. Charity-youngest after Grace. Arthur-Grace's ex boyfriend. I wanted to post this before I head out to the concert I'm going to tonight, so it's not betaed, hopefully there are no mistakes. Bonus points to anyone who can tell me what book Charles is reading.

Jane lay panting in the mud. He was covered head to foot in sticky smelly mud and bits of dried grass. He had been tripped-Sorry I guess you didn't see my foot sticking out there. Pushed-Sorry I couldn't stop in time. Tackled-Sorry, I slipped on the mud. And punched in the face-Didn't you see my fist aiming for your nose? He didn't know if his team was winning or losing. He was pretty sure that people on both sides had enjoyed pushing him to the ground. He did a mental check of his body, head-pounding, arms-soar but not broken, chest-tender, but no broken ribs, legs-like jello but not broken. He sat up and the world spun around him. This is the last time he was going to cook breakfast for this bunch. He slowly climbed to his feet and almost immediately fell down again as he tried to put weight on his ankle. He didn't think it was broken, but definitely badly sprained.

He hobbled towards the back of the truck he had ridden here in; he was not going to be playing any more 'football'. He loved Grace, loved her with all his heart, but he was not prepared to die on some empty field in the middle of nowhere Iowa. He cringed as he saw Bill sauntering towards him.

"Climb on in Patrick; I'll give you a ride back to the house. I think you've had enough." He said opening the passenger door of the truck for him.

"Are you sure? Because I don't think anything's broken, just sprained." He was trying not to be bitter, but it was hard.

"We're just looking out for Gracie, know what I mean? You've been pretty crappy to her this weekend, at least from what we could see, and this is the way we show how much we care about her." They were driving now, it wasn't a long drive, but Jane could feel every bump in the road.

"I care about her too, thanks for not killing me." He could see the house now and couldn't wait to get inside and shower.

"This is nothing; we could have taken you hunting." Bill said with an evil grin as he pulled into the drive way.

Jane slowly got out of the truck and hobbled towards the back door. There was no way he was going in the front and tracking all this mud all over the place. The last thing he needed was Lucy giving him a beat down for messing up her floors. He knew the only person home was Bill, so he stood in the kitchen and striped naked, wrapping his muddy clothes up in a ball and dropping them in the washing machine on his way up the stairs.

The shower took longer than he thought it would as the more mud he washed off the more his injuries became evident. In addition to all the bruises he also had cuts and scrapes almost head to toe. He got out of the shower and gingerly toweled off. He thought about looking around for a first aid kit but didn't have the energy. He simply wrapped the towel around his waist and made his way to the room he was sharing with Grace.

He couldn't manage to do more than pull an undershirt on over his head and his last pair of sweat pants. He didn't bother with socks or shoes, there was no point, his ankle was swollen to badly for more than slippers, which he hadn't brought with him. He'd have to get a pair before the headed back home; he couldn't go barefoot on the plane.

He wanted nothing more than to just lie in bed and sleep, but he had to do something else first. He grabbed the small box out of his suitcase where he had put it before they left. He had to talk to her father, and now was the best time. There wasn't anyone else here, Bill had gone back to the 'game' and the women were still off shopping.

Jane hobbled down the stairs, it felt like it took an hour, but it was really only a few minutes. It didn't take long for Jane to find Charles sitting in his La-Z-Boy recliner in the living room. The TV was on to some football game but the volume was turned off and he was reading a book with the dust jacket removed.

Jane sank into the chair next to his looked over at the book. "You shouldn't be embarrassed by the books you read."

"I'm not embarrassed, just taking a little self preservation. Most people only look at the cover, not the spine of the book, so I can read all about vampire and fairy wars without getting hassled."

"You don't strike me as the type to enjoy vampire books, if you don't mind me saying."

"No, you're right. One of the other teachers at school got me on them. I've even considered getting HBO, but can't justify the expense to Lucy."

They fell into a slightly awkward silence after the last statement until Jane looked down at his hands and saw the box. Without saying anything he put the box on the arm of Charles' chair.

He looked up and saw the box; setting down his book he opened it slowly. "Thanks for the offer Patrick, but I don't really swing that way, and besides, I'm already married."

"It's not for you."

"So, why do you think you're good enough for my girl?"

"I'm not. She deserves better than me. She really does. I don't deserve her. But, she's been the only light in my life for a very long time. The first time I thought that I might want something more than just a working relationship from her was Easter. I'd over heard that she was going to be singing a solo at her church and I had to go. I don't know why I was so compelled to go; it was like I was drawn to it. And I kept going back. I hadn't set foot in a church since my wife and daughter had died. I just couldn't do that. But Grace, she drew me back in." He paused there, as if thinking.

"I thought you said you don't believe in God."

"I don't. That's what's so odd about it. I wish I could say that I was going for the sermon, but to be honest, I often left as soon as the choir sang. I just had to hear Grace sing. I thought I was being careful not to let her see me, but she knew I was there. She didn't want to talk to me about it at work, but one day she caught me as I was leaving, and we just hit it off so to speak. It hasn't been easy, and goodness knows I have a lot of baggage. I don't doubt that at some point, Grace isn't going to want to be with me any longer, and I'm ok with that. All I know is that right now, if I lost her, it would be like losing my wife all over again. I love Grace; I love her with all my heart."

"Why are you telling me this?" Charles was still looking at the box in his hands.

"I just spent the past few hours getting my ass beat by people who love Grace. I just want to let you know that I love her too, maybe more than some of those guys, and, well, I just wanted to let you know what I was planning."

"What do you think she's going to say?"

"I don't know, but I hope it's yes."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, so I know no one saw that last chapter coming. But, what's to say that what's going to happen is what you think is going to happen? Credit for the idea in this chapter goes to Eve215 and a conversation I had with her ages ago about where this story should go.

It had been a long day. Grace felt as if she had gone to every store known to man. She felt sure that she was shopped out for the season and the only gifts she'd got were for the people in Iowa. She was still going to have to go shopping when she got back to Sacramento. Maybe she could get Lisbon to go with her, if she was feeling up to it, what with her being pregnant and all.

The guys were done playing their football game when they got back from the city and they all came out to help get the bags with one noticeable exception. "Where's Patrick?" She asked, not addressing her question to anyone in particular.

There was a long pause in which all of the guys just looked at each other with slightly guilty looks on their faces. "What did you guys do to him?"

She was mad, and they could tell. Finally it was Charles who spoke. "He's upstairs waiting for you; he was a little tired after the game today."

Grace just glared at them all as she went inside leaving the rest of the bags for the other people to get and went up to her room. The light was off, despite the darkness outside and Grace left it off, closing the door behind her as she went in. She walked quietly over to the bed and turned on the small reading lamp next to it. She couldn't help but gasp when she saw his face.

"Oh Patrick! What happened to you sweetie?" She asked quietly, stroking the burses that stood out on his face.

"I fell into one of your brothers friends' fists while we were playing. Don't worry. I don't think anything is broken, just badly sprained and swollen." He said, opening his eyes and struggling to sit up.

"I'm so sorry; I had no idea that it would be this bad. I know we had a fight, but I didn't think they would take it out on you."

"It's no big deal." He succeeded in sitting up and he patted the spot next to him suggesting for her to sit next to him.

"Yes it is. You haven't had a good night's sleep in what, three nights? I know how you get when you don't get sleep. Your reaction time is off. Even if you'd seen that punch coming you wouldn't have been able to dodge it."

"It's ok sweetie. They just love you and care about you. It was their way of making sure I knew what would happen if I ever hurt you. Trust me; I don't think I'm ever going to, at least not on purpose." He tried to laugh, but it made his side hurt.

"Tell me what hurts." Grace asked, pushing him back down onto the bed and climbing next to him to look over him.

"My head is pounding, but the aspirin seems to finally be kicking in. My ribs hurt on the left side, but they're not broken. My right arm is tender, I've got a bruise the size of a large mans foot where it was stepped on. Oh, and I twisted my right ankle. It's hard to walk on and we're going to have to get some slippers for me before we head home, I can't get my shoes on. That is, if you haven't sworn off shopping until after the first of the year."

Grace bent over and kissed him on the tip of his nose. "No, I have not sworn off shopping, I just don't want to do it. I'll see if my mom will run out really quick and get you a pair."

He took advantage of her leaving to talk to Lucy to pull the small box out of the pocket of his sweat pants. He was going to ask her, but after they'd talked. It was now or never. He had to do this; he had to know what she would say.

He smiled at her when she came back into the room, pulling himself up more firmly against the head board. Grace sat down on the bed next to him and facing him so that she could look at him.

"I'm really sorry Patrick." She began again.

"No, I deserved it. I said some pretty awful things last night."

"We don't need to talk about that now, you need to rest."

"No, this is the perfect time to talk about it. I didn't get beat up today for nothing." He paused for a second collecting his thoughts. "I'll never be able to give you what you want Grace. You know that. We'll never have the house in the suburbs with the white picket fence and the 2.5 kids and dog. I'll always have this emotional baggage. I'm going to-I want to tell you why it is I do what I do."

He paused again taking a deep breath; he'd never told another person this, other than Lisbon, he was going to do it now, for his love, for _her_ love. She deserved to know. "Don't say anything until I'm done talking ok? I know it's going to be hard. You're going to want to try to stop me and tell me I don't have to tell you, it's going to be hard to hear, but I need to tell you, so that you can begin to understand me."

He waited until she nodded before continuing. "I want to apoloigize first. Sometimes I think that I'm about to lose the best thing that's happened to me in a very long time because I don't know when to shut up. You say I have no sense of self preservation, and maybe you're right. All I know is that for the past six years, I haven't cared, and now that I do, it's been a struggle for me to watch what I say and sensor the comments that come out of my head. And sometimes I just say them because I can. I know I shouldn't but I just crave the conflict. It matches the chaos in my head.

"I didn't handle my families' deaths very well. No surprise there I'm sure. I fell apart. Do you remember that case we had back last year at the college? With Sophie Miller? She was my doctor, my psychologist. At the hospital. I tried to kill myself after what Red John did. Obviously I didn't succeed. The cleaning lady found me. I was in there for probably close to a month before I realized that it wasn't going to bring my family back. That it wasn't going to make me feel any better, sitting there talking about my feelings and what happened. So I charmed my way out. Should I have stayed longer, probably. But I didn't. I left knowing full well that I wanted to kill Red John. I wanted to see him suffer as much as I had been suffering, as much as my wife and daughter had suffered.

"Up until I walked into that church on Easter that was the only thing in my life I was living for, even now, I still think about it. It's one of the reasons I can't sleep. One of the reasons I don't go back to my house. It's still on the wall, that red smiley face. I can't paint over it. I got rid of everything that reminded me of them. I know you've never seen that house, and if I can help it you never will, but it's empty. A shell of its former self. It's not the same home it used to be. Now it's just a place to be to keep out of the elements. A place to let the memories haunt me."

He stopped at that point, taking a deep breath, almost afraid to continue. He placed the box in her hands where they were resting in his lap. "I can't promise you marriage Grace. You deserve more than me, but, I can promise, that as long as you'll have me, I'll be yours."

She slowly opened the box and gasped. It was a stunning ring, a large diamond surrounded by rubies set in a platinum and gold twisted band.

"I know; I'm being rather like a Neanderthal about it. Saying that I can't promise you marriage, but wanting you to wear my ring anyway. I just want the world to know that I love you, that if I could I would marry you, but I also want you to know that it's all up to you. I'll only be with you as long as you want me to be. You can tell me to leave at any time. You can leave for someone who can give you the things you are going to want, marriage, kids, the whole nine yards."

"Would you just shut up Patrick?" She said cutting him off. "This is more than I had ever hoped for. I'm a little old for a promise ring, but I'll accept it as a promise that if the time comes that I can't be with you, that it's no longer the right thing for me to be with you, that you'll let me go. You won't try to keep me with you."

"That's all I can ask, that you love me until you can't any more. And I promise, if it comes to it, I will let you leave, if that's what is going to make you happy."

She felt tears welling in her eyes and felt a little silly for it. "It really is a beautiful ring Patrick."

He took the box out of her hand and pulled the ring from it. Taking her left hand in his he placed the ring on her finger. "Grace, will you have me as long as you're able to?"

"Yes, Patrick. Yes I will." She bent over and kissed him as gently as she could on the lips. It was a tender kiss, trying to convey all the emotions that she felt for him. Breaking it off she smiled down at him. "I really wish we weren't at my parents' house right now."

"Why?" If anything he would think she'd be happy to be here right now, and able to show off the ring.

"Because moments like this call for a little more than a chaste kiss on the lips."

"That's ok, because honestly, right now, the thing I want to do most is just hold you in my arms and know that you're not going anywhere." And with that he pulled her down to him with his good arm and cradled her against him, knowing that at least for right now, they were ok, that everything was going to be ok.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't usually do AN's at both ends, but as this is the end I figured it was ok. I bet you didn't see that coming, did you? So, yea this is the end of this one. I do have plans for a sequel, anyone who wants to make a guess about what's going to happen I'm more than willing to entertain guesses. Just one last thanks to every one who reviewed, and also to Eve215 and demmonbunny7 for all the help they gave me in this story.


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